For Four Years
by kiarwyn
Summary: James Potter could have any girl in the school that he wanted. Instead he has been chasing the smart, muggleborn Lily Evans for four years. She has refused him every single time, but could she suddenly be gaining feelings for him? Just Chapter one.
1. Chapter 1- To Hogwarts

**_Thanks to LunaNotLoony who corrected flushing for me I've updated this chapter and changed that word to blushing._**

_'Don't look! Don't Look!_' Lily Evans was battling with herself in her own mind. _'Don't Look! – Okay one peek.'_ She peered around her book to see the handsome James Potter laughing around with his friends. She did not know where the urge had come from_. 'He is conceited,'_ she told herself, turning back to her book. She could feel the rumble as the 'Hogwarts Express' chugged through the green valleys along its railway line. It was Lily's sixth year at Hogwarts this year; she sat alone in her compartment, having ceased her friendship with Slytherin, Severus Snape when he had called her a mudblood. Still battling in her mind, Lily glanced over the top of her book at James and, _urgh! _Wrong time! James' best friend, Sirius had seen her look. He nudged James and James stood up, he opened the door of his compartment and strode proudly towards hers. Her eyes back on her book, Lily pretended not to notice him, but his smile, that arrogant, annoying, gorgeous smile, was teasing her to look up. James opened the door slightly and leaned on it to open it the rest of the way. He turned around to see his friends giggling like little girls; he sniggered at them before turning back to Lily.

"Nice book Evans?" James asked suddenly.

"Yes Potter, it actually is," Lily told him strongly, not looking up.

"Really? Who would have though? _You_ liking a book? I mean really?" There it was his sarcastic, arrogance. "So have you come to your senses this year?"

Forgetting everything she had taught herself about James Potter, Lily looked up, "What do you mean?" she asked, losing her sharpness at the beginning but restoring it quickly so he could not notice, although he did. He fell down on the seat beside her and snatched, 'The Standard Book of Spells Grade 6' from her hands. Looking in her beautiful eyes he asked,

"Go out with me?"

"No."

Come on."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Why not James Potter? Are you seriously going to play this game with me, again?"

"I like it," he shrugged, "But if you want to stop playing just go out with me."

"Go away Potter."

"Oh come of it Evans-"

"Away Potter," she pointed to the door.

_'What was that?'_ Lily thought as James reluctantly left. '_Why were you actually thinking of accepting?'_

The rest of the train ride was simple. Lily did not peek at James again although something inside of her kept telling her to. James' friends had laughed at him when he came back in after being rejected for what Sirius said was the 407th time. When they reached the school, James did not hop into a carriage with his friends, rather he waited subtlety until Lily was the last person left when he came out of the shadows and jumped in the carriage with her. He sat opposite her, his feet resting beside her on the seat. Quickly, Lily grabbed the thing closest to her, an old copy of the 'Daily Prophet' and began to pretend to read it.

"Come on Evans, " James said suddenly.

"Come on what?" she snapped.

"Go out with me?" he asked again.

"Come off it Potter. Is there not another girl in the school you like?"

"No." James grinned sheepishly, trying to hide his blushing.

"Oh," Lily did not know what to say.

"At least sit with me at the feast," he begged.

"I will sit with Remus…and you, only because I do not want to sit with a whining Harriet Macro again."

"Better than nothing," James grinned again as Lily rolled her eyes.

The rest of the trip to the castle was quiet, with James almost always starring at her and Lily glaring at him over the top of her paper, and him smiling, adorably, making Lily want to say something but not saying anything as she did not want to give in.

When they, finally, reached the castle, they found Sirius and Remus waiting for them.

"Lily?" Remus asked questioningly.

"No Remus." James replied sulkily for Lily.

"How was your summer Remus?" Lily asked, ignoring both their remarks. Lily and Remus had always gotten along and seeing as though they were the Gryffindor house prefects, that was a good thing.

The sorting came and left quickly, there were less enrolling students as of the dangers that parents thought their children might face this year. Lily and Remus were chatting most of the feast. They were talking about prefect stuff when suddenly, Remus changed the subject.

"James is a good bloke you know Lily."

"Wha? Oh well, he's arrogant and conceited and…" but she had nothing else to say.

"But he has a great heart."

"I don't get it though, Remus, he could have any girl in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, I mean none of them would give up the chance. But instead, he has been asking out me for four years."

"Has it really been that long?" James interrupted, sliding onto the seat next to Lily.

"Yes, Potter you have been nagging me for four years."

"Well that's hardly enough," he smiled and with that he left Lily to escort herself to Gryffindor tower.

'What? Oh Potter!' Lily thought smiling subtlety so that no one would notice.


	2. Chapter 2- First Day Back

The first day of lessons brought great annoyance and a little pleasure to Lily Evans. It was not the arrangement of classes that annoyed her, but what they brought instead. She filed into Transfiguration with the rest of the Gryffindors and Slytherins and found a place at the back of the room. Remus and Sirius soon passed by her, closely followed by James. "Potter!" McGonagall barked as he entered.

"Already Professor? What did I do?"

"I want you three split up," she gestured to the three of them, "and so do all your other teachers," they stared blankly at her. "From now on, Lupin, stay up there next to McDonald, Black beside Rosier and Potter up the back with Evans." Sirius playfully nudged James in the ribs before slouching off to sit by Evan Rosier. Remus laughed as he fell down next to Mary McDonald and Lily groaned,

"Really Professor?"

"Really Evans, maybe you can teach him a bit about behavior and vice versa he micght teach you how to have fun" McGonagall said with a smile then started on a long explanation about human transformations, which when announced, Sirius turned around and gave a not-so-subtle grin at James. Rolling her eyes, Lily began to start to take notes on the subject.

"What are you taking notes for?" James asked her.

"To learn Potter, you should try it sometime."

"But I mean you already know it all don't you?"

"Maybe."

"Silence Potter!" McGonagall was barking at him again.

"Alright Professor, alright," James said innocently, taking out his quill and scribbling a note. He passed the note to Lily who reluctantly opened it and read:

_Come to Hogsmeade Saturday?_

_She paused for a little while, which did not go un-noticed by James before replying;_

_'_No_'_

"Oh come on," James whispered, "why?"

"You know perfectly well why not."

"Actually I don't know Evans," he drawled out her last name.

"POTTER, EVANS! QUIET!" McGonagall yelled.

The rest of Transfiguration took its time and so did the rest of their first day back. McGonagall, to Lily's disappointment had told the other teachers that splitting them up made James, Remus and Sirius get more work done, so all of their other teachers had made the same arrangements.

The Gryffindor common room was loud and noisy, with both new and old students each recoiling their first day back to their friends who were all eagerly waiting to tell them how they got in trouble already or what classes they enjoyed the most. James, Remus and Sirius were sitting in the most comfortable chairs beside the fireplace. Sirius was explaining how he had already scored two nights detention with McGonagall for harmlessly hexing some naïve first years. However, there was one person who was not boasting about their achievements; in fact she was not talking to anyone at all. Lily Evans was sitting as far from James and his friends as possible, her nose in 'A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration'. Suddenly she snapped the book closed and stood up sharply, striding towards the portrait hole. As she climbed out a laughing James noticed and quickly became serious again. He got up and hurried after her, his friends had stopped laughing and were now sniggering at James as he climbed through the portrait hole.

Lily walked, James on her tail, for 15 minutes with no interruption from anyone. James was observing her every move from a close distance; he liked the way that she would look up at the ceiling, her hands on her hips, or the way that she would make a little skip when she was sure no one was watching. All of a sudden, a dim, glowing light appeared in the rapidly dimming darkness and the face of a greasy haired boy came into view. Severus Snape sat, his back against the brick wall, scribbling something in his copy of 'Advanced Potion Making', however what neither Lily nor James could see was that one of Snape's Slytherin buddies was sitting beside him, hidden by his body. Lily was about to turn around but decided against it, bravely she strode up to Severus and spoke, "Hello Severus."

"What do you want?" his drawling, rude voice asked her.

"To talk to you," Lily replied strongly.

"Get lost."

'Oh no you didn't' James thought, thinking about running out at the slimy git but he did not.

"Sev," as soon as Lily said this, Severus' unseen friend made himself seen.

"You have not right to talk to him you filth," Evan Rosier said.

Lily jumped but in the same strong voice said; "I can talk to whoever I want to talk to?"

"Don't you speak to me like that you rotten mudblood," Rosier drew his wand, so did Severus.

James could not take this, he ran out from where he had been shadowed, his wand aimed at Rosier. "HOW DARE YOU?" he roared, "HOW DARE YOU CALL HER THAT?"

"And what are you going to do about it Potter?" Snape's tone was aggravating James.

"Expelliarmus!" James roared at Rosier whose wand flew out of his hand towards James.

"Stupefy!" Snape yelled, his hex narrowly missing Lily but hitting James square. He fell to the ground, Lily gasping. She raised her wand, hesitantly and pointed it at Snape.

"Leave Severus," she snarled.

Snape also raised his was "Expelliarmus!" he said in a drawling yell but Lily was too quick, she blocked his spell and sent a mild non-verbal hex towards her ex-best friend who fell to the ground. She then ran to tend to James who was out cold, his head bleeding. She healed his minor head injury head injury with 'Episky' which she was not sure would work, but it did. She then levitated him back all the way to the Gryffindor common room, everyone else had gone to bed so Lily lay James on the couch and whispered "rennervate," taking herself to bed.


	3. Chapter 3- Please

**I am SOOOO sorry this has taken so long to get up but I wrote it ages ago then tried to upload but everytime I clicked manage stories an error occurred I reported it and now its finally working YAY! **

**There is mis-spelling in this when wormtail is talking! *This is on purpose* its my take on how he might have talked back then!**

When James woke the next morning he strained to remember what had happened. It was only early and nobody else was awake yet, nobody that was except Lily Evans who was silently creeping down the stairs from the girl's dormitory. James saw her beautiful red hair and her lovely face and smiled.

"Couldn't stay away huh?" he whispered in a teasing voice.

"I was coming down to check on you," she told him rolling her eyes. "How is your head?"

"You actually do care about me Evans," he groaned rolling onto his side to look into her beautiful eyes. Lily was a bit taken aback by this and did not know how to reply.

"Go out with me Evans?" He groaned hopefully and seeing the look in her face he added something he had never said to her before, "please?"

Again Lily couldn't come up with a snarky reply. _'He has been asking you for four years, maybe he actually deserves it._' One side of her brain was telling her while the other said, _'you have been refusing him for four years, why give up now?'_

"No," she told him, but it was not a strong or as meaningful as the word usually was and James noticed this.

"Why?" James asked her.

"I...I…I don't know," it was an accident, she did not mean to give him hope but she couldn't lie-what was she going to do? Lily did not know so she stood up and left.

"Lily?" he called out, she wanted to turn back but did not know what to say.

Over the next few days the only times that James and Lily saw each other were during classes in which Lily was too nervous to talk to him. However on Friday, Lily was sitting in Potions, the class had finished and it was the end of classes for that day. Professor Slughorn had left and the room was quiet, James had left also, or so she had thought. But he had not; he was waiting outside the door for her. When she finally left, Lily walked straight passed James without noticing him.

"Evans!" James called out to her, "Wait up!" Lily turned around to see the handsome boy running towards her, he wasn't smiling. "You can't avoid me forever," he told her, but not in his usual playful tone, this tone was serious.

"I know,"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you hate me?"

"I don't hate you James."

"You don't? Wait, James?" she had never called him that before, he looked up to say something else but she was gone. "Lily!" she did not turn around.

Saturday came, James' favorite day. Not because there was no school to be done but because today was Quidditch practice for the Gryffindor team. As captain and chaser, James was very excited, he knew the weather would not turn against him as the sky was a splendid blue. As per normal, James arrived at the Quidditch pitch, he jumped on his broom, the newest and fastest Nimbus 1990 and performed a fantastic lap around the pitch. He then had to decide which training activities his team would practice today. He inter-looped the three goalposts at one end, raced to the other end and looped the hoops there. He also decided on practicing; flying without hands, dodging objects and steading an airborne spin among other things. The rest of the team was not scheduled to arrive for another 15 minutes but James could see a figure walking towards the stands, James zoomed towards them to get a better look, when he realized that the figure was a female, not surprising himself by this James continued, he usually got female viewers at his warm-up and practice sessions, it came with the territory of being the 'most good-looking, most talented quidditch expert in the world' as James liked to label his position. And then for a moment James stopped. He noticed. And then his jaw fell open. Sitting on the bench was not just another fan-girling admirer, in fact this person was not that at all. The person who sat on the bench was Lily Evans.

Lily noticed that James had spotted her and recognized her, she quickly dipped her nose back into her, enormous, boring-looking book.

"O Lily, O Lily," James muttered to himself as he swept down low on his broom and zoomed aiming strait for the o on the cover of the copy of 'A History of Magic' that Lily held in her hands. Lily squealed as James approached on his Nimbus but he swerved just before he got to her and make a simple clean landing beside her, just as three other figures approached.

"What do you reckon this time Moony?" Sirius was asking his friend.

"I dunno Padfoot, either 'it's good to have fresh air while I'm studying,' or 'It is quite over crowded inside, and rather noisy'." They both laughed. Each time they found Lily on the stand during James' practice she gave them an excuse, they loved to joke about it although, often she'd seem serious.

"What do you think Wormy?" Sirius asked the third, a short, plump boy by the name of Peter Pettigrew.

"Um," his voice was higher than the others and his words did not string together to well, "I finks mwaybe the fwirst wone!"

Lily heard them and shook her head, "What's that about?" James asked Lily who shrugged in reply.

"Well, well, well," Sirius began, "What brings you to these fine parts of sunny Hogwarts today miss Lily-pilly?"

"Ah, I figured I might study outside without being interrupted. Obviously that didn't happen. And Sirius can't you think of a better nickname?"

"No."

Lily turned her head back to her book; James took this perfect opportunity to flick his head towards the castle, gesturing for his friends to nick off. They took the signal and left leaving Lily and James alone, as he had wanted. "Soooo, Lily?"

"Yeah," she lifted her head, then realized she was being way to nice-and blushing so stuck it back down again.

"O come on Lily, will ya just talk to me?"

"Okay Potter, what do you want?" she looked at him, he looked hopeful but surprisingly looked just like a normal boy rather than the 'look-at-me' James she knew_. Arg what was that, stop it Lily! Wow_! She was telling herself but not completely wanting it.

'Potter? I liked it better when you called me James."

Lily shook her head, but made a mental note in her head to call him James from now on. "Get to the point."

"I was just hoping that you might have changed you mind." He was so timid, cautious, nervous was it possible he was changing because of love? "Will you come to Hogsmeade with me on the weekend?"

**Authors Note: Okay so I was hoping to know what you want to happen next, so do you want them to go and then see my take on what they'd be like together OR do you want James to beg a bit more, possibly stop for a bit then Lily get jealous? I really wanna get them together but id like to know what you want! Please review and tell me!**


	4. Chapter 4- Do or Dont

** Quite excited that I've put 2 chapters up today! I know I asked last chapter what you guys wanted but I really wanted to keep writing so I hope you like what I've done!**

There was a strong impulse inside Lily to say it stronger than it ever had been before and it was tearing her brain apart, the decision. But the reasons to say no again were becoming scarce. She breathed in heavily and let it out with a puff, "Okay," she mumbled but it was hard to tell whether she had said 'okay' or 'no way'.

James had not moved, he'd obviously not heard correctly, if at all, "pardon?"

"Okay," Lily repeated and James could not believe his ears, he stared at her blinking before asking "Are you serious?"

"No. I'm pretty sure that's your best friend," a humorous side had come over her, they both burst out laughing and for the first time she was happy to be beside him, giggling like a little girl on Christmas morning. It was so unlike her that James didn't even move until Lily announced that it was breakfast time and she strode back to the castle, James following like a lost puppy.

At the breakfast table things were back to normal for a while, James sat amongst his best friends at one end whispering about something then grinning broadly. Lily sat a little further down; A History of magic heavily thumped on her left, a bowl of crisp cereal on her right. As she dipped her spoon in the bowl and lifted it to her mouth, her eyes did not move from the pages she was reading. However out of the corner of her eye she saw a tall, dark boy walking towards her, thinking it was James she looked up only to find his best friend there instead. The cheekiest grin covered Sirius' face as he marched right to her and sat down, closing her book on her fingers in the process. "Ouch!" she cried perhaps more to scold Sirius rather than in pain. He ignored this.

"So is it true?" he asked, cocking his eyebrow upwards as he leant forward placing his chin in his palm, elbow upon table staring straight into Lily's eyes as if his question were the most important thing in the world.

"What?"

"Well you see, dear Jamsie has come and told us that you and he are going to Hogsmeade together next Saturday."

"You point being?"

"Is it true?"

"Why do you need to know?"

Sirius disregarded this completely and repeated himself for the third time; "Is it true?"

"Goodness sakes Sirius!" she almost yelled at him, then lowered her voice, "Yes. I agreed to go to Hogsmeade with James and if you tell a soul your dead meat and so is he. Got it." She spoke through clenched teeth.

The day went on like a normal Saturday; quidditch practice for James, studying for Lily trouble making for Sirius and the rest of the school went about gossiping and having fun. But word kept between Sirius, James and Lily and this made Lily happy enough.

On the following Saturday morning a cooling breeze swept throughout Hogwarts. Lily awoke early and sat out in the common room studying when James arrived. "Good morning," he was bright and cheery and Lily could never have forgotten why. He planked himself down beside her, smiling normally. He gazed longingly into her gorgeous green eyes and she stared back into his and then, dare it be mentioned she smiled-at him. Thinking he was finally getting somewhere, James –being James- overstepped, he reached out his hand towards her soft red hair and twirled it between his fingers. 'Whack!' She'd hit him.

"Don't you go getting all cocky again James Potter," she scowled, then on a happier note, "I'll meet you outside the owl-post office at 11, okay?" And with that she left.

Getting ready to go out, Sirius criticized James' every move. "You're not wearing that Prongs, just no." he starred at the button up top and formal pants he was wearing.

"What am I supposed to wear? I took these from Franks trunk, isn't this what he'd wear going out with Alice."

"No. Dude that's meet the parents clothes. Interview with the minister clothes."

"Cause those two are so alike."

"Ha, ha. All I'm saying is that she's not going to want to walk around town with a perfect gentleman, James. Remember she said she'd go out with you. Be you. "

"Padfoot, I think that is the best piece of advice you've ever given. And the only."

"Anyway, it's not like Lily's gonna be going round in a floor-length robe now, I mean really, it's Evans!"

When James arrived at the Owl-post office at 10 to 11, Lily was nowhere in sight, which was good, James had something to do first. He wore a pair of neat denim jeans and a casual but nice collared t-shirt, his shoes were rather dirty but mostly hidden beneath his pants so that was okay. Quickly James ducked inside the owl office, a short man with bushy grey hair a matching mustache approached. "What can I do for you hey Mr. Potter?"

"Mr. Handoff! Have an owls arrived for me?"

"Why yes they have," the small man croaked. "Ah yes right here, Tawny flew in this morning with this in her beak," he handed James an envelope and a small box.

"Thank-you," James called as he hurried out the door, took the contents our of the envelope and scribbled something on it using one his quills as quickly as he could. Just as he finished, James looked up.

Lily Evans.

**Authors Note: So that's chapter four, I hope you like it! I think I'm gonna go with my instincts with this now but any constructive criticism is needed for a good story. **

**I'd also like to clear up something! There are two reviews on this story that say they are from me and yes they were done on my account however, I am not stuck up and did not review myself! It was a computer/story/weird/complicated mix up thingy and its really embarrassing when people say, hey did you review yourself? so im soooo sorry bout that! Please ignore them!**


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